The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) today went ahead with the second fare hike this year but not before the Centre and the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government sparred over the issue. The Centre, represented by Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, arg

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) today went ahead with the second fare hike this year but not before the Centre and the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government sparred over the issue.

The Centre, represented by Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, argued that the existing rules do not mandate it to interfere with the Metro fare hike nor share operational expenses with the state government.

A combative Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government under Arvind Kejriwal has vociferously protested against the Delhi Metro fare hike with the Delhi Assembly passing a resolution against the move. The Delhi Chief Minister had proposed that his government is ready to provide 50 per cent of the grant-in-aid to DMRC for the next five years, Rs 1,500 crore annually, if Centre pays the other half.

After the Metro price hike, a 2-5 km distance will now cost Rs 20 as against Rs 15 earlier while the maximum fare has gone up from Rs 50 to Rs 60 for a distance of 32 km and more.

DELHI's LONG FIGHT WITH AIR POLLUTION

Incidentally, the Delhi Metro fare hike comes a day after the Supreme Court upheld the ban on sale of firecrackers in Delhi and NCR till November 1, effectively ruling out their sale on Diwali, on the ground of "air quality" deterioration.

Air quality deterioration and air pollution are the two issues that Delhi has been grappling with since last few decades and the introduction of Metro was hailed by many as an affordable and world-class public mode of transport that can dissuade people from using private vehicles.

Following the first hike in Metro fare on May 10, the Metro ridership saw a significant drop in June. As against an estimated 27.2 lakh people using the Delhi Metro everyday in June 2016, an estimated 25.7 lakh people used it in June this year--a dip of 1.5 lakh daily passengers.

The total ridership dropped by around 15 lakh and 21 lakh respectively in the Yellow and Blue Lines of the Delhi Metro in June as compared to the same period in 2016. The Delhi Metro, however, called the dip in ridership "natural".

HAS METRO HELPED CHECK AIR POLLUTION LEVELS?

In this context, the concerns raised by the Delhi government on a fall in ridership in the wake of a second round of fare hike gain credence. While Delhi Metro alone cannot answer the city's air pollution woes, it kept an estimated 4 lakh cars off roads in 2014.

According to a research paper by the Centre for Development Economics at Delhi School of Economics, the Delhi Metro has helped in bringing down levels of two vehicular pollutants, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO).

"Looking at each extension of the rail network as a separate event, it (Metro) has resulted in three to 47 per cent reduction in NO2 concentration, and a 31 to 100 per cent reduction in CO concentration," said Deepti Goel of Delhi School of Economics who authored the research paper along with Sonam Gupta from Food and Resource Economics Department at University of Florida.

The research figures are helpful to determine the impact of Metro in reducing vehicular congestion and subsequently air pollution in Delhi. At a time when congestion on Delhi roads is growing at 7 per cent annually, a fall in Metro ridership could mean more vehicles on the roads and higher levels of pollution in the city.